The flames had died down but the ghostly remains of Brighton's historic West Pier still drew the crowds at the weekend.

Thousands of people went to stare at its blackened skeleton, shrouded in a mixture of sea mist and smoke from the still-smouldering remains.

Starlings and pigeons temporarily made homeless by the blaze began to return to their former roost.

They fluttered around it like moths attracted to a flame before settling on the iron girders not still too hot for them to land on.

Bystanders Peter Woods and his partner Roseanne Rees said the scene looked like a snapshot from an Alfred Hitchcock film.

They stood on the beach, their arms around each other, reflecting like hundreds of others on the eerie beauty of the still-proud structure.

Peter, of Lloyd Road, Hove, said: "It has a ghostly look to it now but I think it looks much better than the part which escaped the fire.

"I moved to Brighton about 25 years ago and never went on the pier because it was derelict even then. It is very sad to see it end like this."

Roseanne, who has just moved from Lancashire, said: "I saw the West Pier for the first time about two months ago.

"I thought it was a real shame it had been allowed to deteriorate the way it had.

"It has a strange beauty to it now because it looks like something out of a Hitchcock movie."

Richard Nippard was on the beach with his three sons Max, 12, Chad, eight, and Ross, six, early on Saturday morning.

Mr Nippard, of Goldstone Villas, Hove, said: "I brought the boys down to have a look and to take some pictures.

"It is a great shame this has happened after so much money has already been spent on it. All that has literally gone up in smoke now.

"Even so, I think it is important it should be restored because it is part of the heritage of Brighton and Hove."

People were out in force combing the beaches for charred remains from the fire which had been washed up by the tide.

However, most of the debris was carried away by strong currents and little came ashore for souvenir hunters to pick up.

Brighton and Hove City Council's seafront staff removed a few blackened pieces of wood from the beach and left them outside their office for anyone who wanted them.

A spokesman said: "We have not had a repeat of the what happened when the front of the pier collapsed during the winter storms.

"A lot of it was picked up and taken home by people who wanted to keep a bit of Brighton's history.

"This time very little has come back on to the beach and has instead been carried away by the current.

"It is possible some of it may come back again on the tide but most of the wood was completely burnt."

The aftermath of the blaze was good news for seafront traders who said it had boosted their takings.

The market on the Lower Esplanade below the former entrance to the pier went ahead as usual on Saturday.

Steven Peachey, who runs a stall selling hats, said: "We think we will do quite well because of all the extra people coming to have a look.

"The same happened when part of the pier collapsed in January. It is a real shame about the fire, though."

Tony D'Ademo, owner of the Twin Piers View cafe on the seafront, said: "It is going to be good for business.

"Friday is usually a quiet day but we had a lot of people down both during the fire and at lunchtime.

"Those who were at work and could not come to have a look at the fire then came for a look over the weekend.

"A lot were wondering what would happen to all the birds that roost on the pier at night. "They were trying to settle on the girders on Friday night but they were still too hot for them to land on.

"They had cooled down by Saturday morning and the birds were starting to return again even though the embers were still smouldering."

The end of the pier was a show Daphne Mitchell never wanted to see.

She spent 15 of the happiest years of her life working on the West Pier and remembers it in its heyday.

Daphne, 72, of Clarendon Road, Hove, served fish and chips to day trippers who flocked to the dance hall and restaurant in the Fifties and Sixties.

She said: "All those memories have now gone up in smoke.

"I was in tears when I heard the pier was on fire but I could not go down there to see for myself - a car ran over my foot three weeks ago so I cannot go out at the moment.

"I had to listen to the news to keep up with what was happening.

"I shall ask my son to take me down there in a few weeks' time so I can sit on the beach and remember what life was like on the pier."